Merry Christmas Everyone!

The last week or so has gone by in a flash, but we have all had a wonderful time. Santa was VERY nice to all of us and we came home with a very full car. Thank you to each and every one of you that helped to make our Christmas a wonderful one!

Christmas in Ohio--Santa couldn't fit that kitchen in the sleigh so he brought it a few days early!

EJ opening gifts on Christmas Eve

Attempting to wake up and see what Santa brought on Christmas morning

A shiny new fire truck

Policeman EJ reporting for duty--this picture doesn't do this justice. I will be sure to get another picture so you can see just how adorable this is.

Oh, how they've grown

Grace (our good friend who now lives in Vegas), EJ, and Brady when they were all about to turn one.

Last year:
Brady, Katie, Hannah, EJ and Mia

This year the wild ones:
Brady, EJ, Katie and Hannah

Playgroup Christmas Party

This morning was our annual playgroup Christmas party. We all had so much fun decorating cookies, making a snowman craft and playing with friends. The kids were all dressed up in their Christmas outfits and looked adorable. Thanks to Jenny and Brady for hosting!

L-R: Brady, EJ, Katie and Hannah

Jenny's mom was visiting so were were able to get a rare photo with everyone.

All the Mommies:
L-R: Jenny, Jen Z., Jen H., and Erin

Gingerbread Train

Last night at Target we picked up a really neat kit to make your own gingerbread train. We could have made a gingerbread house, but who wants a silly house when you could have a train! EJ was so excited to help me make it and then decorate all by himself. We all had a great time and the train turned out pretty well too.
P.S.
Please excuse the pajamas, lack of makeup and wild hair--we are having a very lazy Sunday!

I put the frosting on and he added the candy. Believe or not most of the candy did make it onto the train and just a small amount into his belly :)

Adding a few more details

The finished product

Visiting with Lucy

One week ago our good friends Mike, Jenny and Brady added a new addition to their family. Today EJ and I got the opportunity to visit with little Lucy May. She is so incredibly precious and adorable. Best wishes to the whole family!

EJ and Erin hold Baby Lucy

Getting some practice for life in 3 months

EJ practicing his big brothers skills. He is going to do a wonderful job!

Future Hall of Famer

Now batting for the St. Louis Cardinals...EJ Sanchez!
Thanks to our friends Steve, Jen and Hannah for the t-ball set and batting helmet.

Wedding Fun

This weekend we drove up to Wisconsin to attend the wedding of our good friends Dan and Becky. The wedding was at a beautiful hotel called the Osthoff Resort. They were all decked out for Christmas and Santa was even visiting while we were there. It was a great weekend and we had a fabulous time at the wedding. Congratulations Dan and Becky!

The whole family visiting with Santa

EJ snoozing through the beautiful ceremony

He definitely woke up for the party though. All the ladies thought he was the cutest thing ever!

The Wild Dancer

EJ dancing with Grandma Patty and Grandpa Esteban at the wedding. I apologize for it being sideways, but I have no clue how to change that.

Shedd Aquarium

This past weekend we drove up to Wisconsin to the wedding of our good friends Dan and Becky. We took the opportunity to stop in Chicago on our way up north and visit Shedd Aquarium. EJ loves to see fish and all the big sharks so he really loved this place. We also got to see a 4-D version of The Polar Express. The movie was so neat because you had fun 3-D glasses, but they also blew air in your face when the train would go fast, water squirted at you when the train broke the ice, and when they served hot chocolate the whole theater smelled just like hot chocolate.

EJ and Paco checking out the huge center tank

Fun 3-D glasses!

EJ got to try his paddling skills

Happy Birthday to EJ!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our Little Man! I guess to parents you always think of your kids as babies, but I swear it feels like he was just a baby. Here are a few pictures to help remember just how quickly time goes by and they change. Happy Birthday EJ!

About 7 days old about to be released from the NICU--
I think we were all smiling like him that day!

One Year Old

Two year old wild man

Our Big Three Year Old

EJ's Third Birthday Party

EJ's actual Birthday is not until this Wednesday, but we held his party this weekend at Chuck E Cheese. His friends Brady and Katie were able to come along with their parents. Paco's Mom, Dad and brothers, Joe and Dan, were also in town and able to attend. I think young and old alike had a great time playing all the games and crawling through the overhead tunnels. We enjoyed some pizza, presents and cake. Thanks to all who could attend for making EJ's third birthday a memorable one! Many pictures and posts follow this one so be sure to check out all the fun.

Brady, Mike and Jenny play the bee game

Katie and Dave play kiddie whac-a-mole

EJ driving the Bob the Builder truck

Brady vs. EJ in air hockey

Cake time

EJ with his Curious George Birthday Cake

EJ, Katie and Brady singing the Happy Birthday Song

Finally, we get to eat that yummy cake

Opening Presents

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to you!

Playing with Birthday Presents

Birthday presents had to be opened pretty much as soon as we got home today. Daddy has already had to make a run for AAA batteries, but everything is working great and getting played with a ton!

Putting together a puzzle from Katie

Super EJ is playing with his geotrax airplanes

Geotrax firestation

Little People learning town

Playing with Geotrax Planes

Trying out the new Geotrax Airplanes he received as Birthday gifts.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I have really started to get into the spirit of the holiday season and have been looking forward to putting up our tree and decorations. EJ is at such a great age to see the wonder of the holidays and was very excited to help decorate the Christmas tree. Paco and I did learn one valuable lesson though. Make sure you set the tree up the night before while the almost three year old is sleeping and let him decorate in the morning. If I heard "Is it time to put the ornaments on yet?" once I heard it 50 times :) Happy Holidays Everyone!

EJ just put the first ornament on the tree--his very special glitter ornament he made in art class

Paco helps him hang some ornaments near the top

The finished product

Helping Grandpa Bernie

Last week EJ and I went to Springfield to visit with family while Paco took on the daunting task of painting the house. While in Springfield, EJ got to "help" his Grandpa Bernie rake leaves up in their backyard and around the pool. I think he was thinking he was going to be able to go in the pool and swim, but 30 degree weather changed his mind.

Walking out with their rakes

Helping to get the leaves out of the pool

EJ helping Grandpa vacuum up all the leaves--I think that vac was actually bigger than him!

19 week ultrasound

Please bear with me, I know these pictures are not the highest quality. Our scanner is not wanting to work for some reason so I had to take pictures of pictures...not the perfect scenario. Most of you can still probably tell that these are ultrasound pictures. This Friday Paco and I got a chance to see the baby again at our comprehensive ultrasound. The technician checks all the body systems to make sure everything is developing correctly. We got great news that everything is looking great and the little one is growing just as it should. He or she is around 10 ounces and growing rapidly. We saw a really detailed picture of the heart and you could see all four chambers just pumping along. Pretty incredible for an organ that is only the size of a quarter right now!

Fuzzy, but a profile shot--head on the right with thumb in it's mouth

dark but a bit clearer... Head on the right and belly right in the middle with spine along the bottom.

Edit: Pictures replaced with scanned pictures.